In order to better understand the depth of School District #207’s financial situation, I solicited the help of District #207 Business Manager, Ms. Mary Kalou. Ms Kalou provided me with the source document: “Eight Year Changes In Net Assets” report.
The original report was in a different format. I enhanced the report by reformatting to information and adding totals and differences by dollar and percentage. The data illustrates this district’s consistently rising costs. But there is probably more to learn.
One of the problems with only one person reviewing any report like this, is limited experience and judgment of any single viewer. Therefore, for this post, I have chosen to not comment (findings) on the report. Instead, I am asking for your help, by reviewing the report’s content and commenting on your findings.
So, please take a look at the report and tell us what you see.
8 Year Changes in Net Assets - D#207
In order to read the full report, click on Fullscreen view. Move your mouse over, and to the sides of the document. A cursor hand will appear. Click your mouse and you will be able to page through the report.
2 comments:
It appears to me that a major spending spree went on in the 2009 fiscal year. That seems curious. A good question, and one that I do not know the answer to, is what fiscal year did the one-time stimulus money for education come in? If it was 2009, it must REALLY have been a spending spree, to be that far in the red despite those extra funds.
The next question obviously is; where did all that money go? The revamped football stadiums, the $1 million artificial turf field for the state champion Maine South football team, new stadium lights, the wireless tablets at $400 a pop in every classroom district wide, and the new flat screen LCD TV's mounted in the hallways, the cafeterias (which already had TV's) showing sports and the inherent beer commercials account for some of that $11 million deficit, but not all of it.
So what was the board of education's response to this $15 million shortfall they're predicting? When they are sitting on $92 million dollar rainy day buffer? They handed 155 staff their walking papers.
Anon: 4:13AM
You’ve posed some darn good questions here. I have no answers to any of them. Maybe the School Board does. Let’s assume for this discussion that the School Board answers all of these questions to your (our) satisfaction, then what?
Now, let’s get to heart of your comment. The only thing that will apparently satisfy you is for the Board to commit the District to financial suicide. When the money that was set aside for non-educational or administrative purposes is gone, where will the money come from when it is needed? Will you expect the District to float Bonds like District #63? How about a referendum as others have?
The Board has already stated that it’s not going down those paths because it knows that the taxpayer will not go for it.
District #207 Board Members and BoE Management are not wholly responsible for the loss of 155 staff. MTA members who voted “no,” share the blame.
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